Cheap online shopping from Chinese e-commerce giants is about to get more expensive across Europe.
Starting July 1, 2026, a new EU regulation takes effect that ends the duty-free treatment of low-value parcels entering the European market. Packages worth less than €150 from offshore platforms such as Shein and Temu will now carry a fee of around €3.
The goal is to impose some order on what has become an unchecked flood of millions of packages from Chinese e-commerce platforms, Shein and Temu chief among them.
The scale of the phenomenon is striking. The Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship (ESEE), the main body representing Greek retailers, recently described an explosive rise in low-value e-commerce parcels entering the EU. In 2025, imports of small parcels surpassed 5.88 billion items, up from 4.67 billion in 2024, a record high. The growth rate last year, at roughly 25%, was actually a slowdown from the near 100% increases of recent years.
The trajectory is steep. Small-parcel traffic stood at 1.39 billion items in 2022, climbed to 2.44 billion the following year, reached 4.67 billion in 2024 and approached 6 billion in 2025.
According to the European Commission, parcels worth up to €150 accounted for 97.9% of the packages moving through the EU but just 2.1% of their total value. The average value of each small parcel came to €8.86.
ESEE estimates that about 65% of parcels are declared with undervalued contents to avoid customs duties and compliance checks. The confederation warns that the surge in low-value packages creates a broader problem of oversight in the digital market, since much of what enters the EU comes from cross-border platforms that are difficult to inspect before the goods reach the single market.
How €3 can become €6, or more
Under the new regulation, signed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, a temporary duty of €3 per item will apply to online purchases from third countries.
The key detail is that the duty does not apply to the parcel as a whole. It applies to each distinct category of goods inside it, based on customs classifications.
Consider an order containing one silk blouse (customs category 1) and two wool blouses (customs category 2). Even though it ships as a single package, customs recognizes two distinct product types. The result is a total duty of €6, made up of €3 for the silk item and €3 for the wool items.
A parcel holding three or four different product categories would see the duty jump to €9 or even €12, making cheap online purchases from China essentially uneconomical.
The temporary flat duty of €3 will apply to each category of goods in small parcels entering the EU between July 1, 2026, and July 1, 2028, and may be extended if deemed appropriate. Once the EU’s new customs data hub becomes operational, the temporary duty will be replaced by standard customs duties.
A counting problem
Retailers see a practical obstacle. A standardized process will be needed to correctly count the individual products inside each package so the fee can be applied. But the volumes are so large that enforcement may falter.
Makis Savvidis, vice president of the Athens Commercial Association, recently told OT that he fears everything will simply be waved through at the €3 rate, regardless of contents.
Source: tovima.com
